#the thing with asking questions like this about comics

[aliceoseman]

s3 dealt with some more mature themes than s1&2 did, did you struggle with that in any way or did it feel like a natural development for the characters? especially since heartstopper has been praised specifically for being a "wholesome" show basically from the start, did you find it in any way daunting to write (more) sex and alcohol into the show?

(Upon reading this back, I have only talked about sex, not alcohol, very sorry!! Also this gets really off topic but this was the only question I received about sex in the show and I have a lot to say that I just didn't get asked about at all in any promo interviews, so... Here I shall word vomit!!)

Short answer: Yes, I struggled, but not with the writing of the story - just with the general discourse about sex/no sex in Heartstopper, since the beginning of the show.

Long answer:

It wasn't something I struggled with when writing the comic. I always knew that Heartstopper would get to that point - that it would grow up alongside the characters - but the general cultural view of the show as 'wholesome' vs. the criticism of it for being 'puritanical' and 'sexless' has definitely made me feel quite anxious about how these maturer elements would be interpreted by people in the show.

I never saw Heartstopper as 'wholesome' when I started creating the comic. The first chapter of the comic leads to a scene featuring assault, and the story deals heavily with mental health and bullying. The comic has swearing throughout. Whether the story was 'wholesome' was simply not a topic of discourse before the TV show released - I knew it was uplifting and optimistic, of course, but only in the same way that most YA romance stories are. So the public declaration of the Heartstopper show as 'wholesome' - as its defining characteristic and unique selling point - did take me by surprise. I'd had to remove the swearing from the story, but aside from that, I couldn't really understand what was different with the show compared to the comic, and why this was its defining feature. And then of course some of the conversation shifted to the fact that in S1 and S2, there's no sex.

This too confused me. I always felt the sexual attraction between N&C was obvious from the start, and sex itself was introduced into the story at the time I felt was right for the characters, with no real thought as to whether the audience would agree with me. People hardly ever pointed out the lack of sex in the comic - it's very, very normal for YA fiction romances to not feature sex, and in fact, it's actually pretty common for teen movies and shows to not feature sex, certainly when they skew towards younger teens as Heartstopper did in S1 and S2. But for some reason, when the Heartstopper show came around, people really, really noticed the lack of sex, and I was very surprised by that reaction. I wonder if it was because people weren't accustomed to that in queer TV, or if it was because people liked N&C so much as a couple and desperately wanted to see them take that step, or just because people felt it was broadly unrealistic for a teen couple to wait a little while before feeling ready to have sex. Perhaps it was all. But whatever it was, it caused some... outcry!

(I could go into arguments as to whether it is morally correct or generally realistic for N&C to wait before having sex in the story, but ultimately I think people's opinion on that varies heavily depending on their worldview and personal experience, and there's no right answer - people can like it or not like it and that's completely fine, not every tv show is for everyone - but the one thing I would say is that I think it shows young readers/viewers that it's OKAY to not be ready, and how to have that conversation with your partner, and I think that's a really, really good and helpful thing for young people)

Fortunately for those who were distressed by the lack of sex in the show, and for me who was anxious about all of that criticism, I'd been planning for the story to reach that stage pretty soon anyway. It honestly made me relieved that it was going to be introduced, if only to reassure people that I wasn't pretending sex doesn't exist or that I, as an asexual, was spreading some sort of anti-sex agenda (seemed to be a common refrain among those who find it particularly annoying that I'm ace). But mainly - I'd always known this would be a really important step in N&C's journey, and I wanted to do it justice, and I felt I had done so in the comic, but with the TV show came all of those opinions and discourse, so I was much more nervous about it and spent a lot of time during the writing process trying to figure out how people would feel about it. An impossible task, and before S3 released, I had no idea what the reaction would be.

In the end it was pretty anti-climactic - it got hyped up a bit too much in the early promo for S3, and then the general consensus was that the sex in the show was shown with a very light touch, and some people thought that was a good thing and others did not. And people still call the show sexless and puritanical, so it didn't really solve that issue. (I'm just not sure what those people really expected to happen - obviously they are not going to suddenly start fucking on screen in a show that's been previously marketed for the 12-16 age bracket, guys, let's use our brains here) Personally, I'm really proud of how that element of the story turned out. I think the scenes are really beautiful and feel totally right for the tone of the story, and have let the show mature without suddenly becoming an entirely different show.

This has been a long answer but I think what I'm trying to say is this: the 'mature' vs 'wholesome' scale of Heartstopper is something that has never been a topic of discourse for the comic. But it has been front and centre for the show, and certainly is something that has caught me off guard and caused me some anxiety, because I do see the criticism and it does hurt, and at times feels incredibly personal. But at the end of the day, I'm just telling a story, and the things that happen will happen at the time I feel is right for the characters. I just want to tell the story that I've set out to tell, and I intend to keep doing so until it is done.

If we get a S4, and indeed now that I am working on Vol 6, I am thinking much less about how the audience might react to the sex in the story, and am simply just writing/drawing what feels emotionally and dramatically right for the story and characters. And that feels much more creatively freeing!

[hsnlv]

caught in the act (of falling) | y.jw

req!: jungwon with fake dating trope (and like he wants to make it a real relationship or smth like that)

pairing: jungwon x fem!reader

synopsis: what started as a fake dating scheme to fend off jungwon’s ex turns into stolen kisses, lingering touches, and feelings neither of you expected. when “pretend” starts to feel a little too real, jungwon’s flustered confession might just change everything.

warnings/others: fake dating trope!, cute flustered jungwon🤭, jungwon’s ex is obsessive (i would be too if i were one actually)

w/c: 1.07k

here’s my masterlist!

you honestly can’t figure out how you and jungwon ended up here—tangled in each other’s arms in his room, no one around but the two of you. his chest is warm against your back, his chin perched lazily on your shoulder, and his hands are wrapped around yours, helping hold the comic you’re both supposed to be reading. except neither of you is paying attention. how could you, when you can feel his breath tickling your neck every time he exhales?

this whole thing started as a joke—or at least, that’s what you tell yourself. jungwon’s ex had been haunting him like a particularly clingy ghost, and out of sheer desperation, he asked you to pretend to be his girlfriend. fake dating, he called it. to drive her away.

at first, you thought he was out of his mind.

<<<<<<<<<<<<

“jungwon, have you completely lost it?” you whisper-shouted, darting nervous glances at his ex, who was seated way too close to your table in the cafeteria. her glare was sharp enough to cut through steel. “she’s going to end me.”

“she’s not going to end you,” jungwon whispered back, though his tone wasn’t exactly convincing. “look, it’s a foolproof plan. a few hugs, maybe hold hands—just when she’s around! it’ll be fine.”

“fine? jungwon, she’s been staring at me like i ran over her cat.”

he winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “okay, fair. but you’ll be doing me the biggest favor ever. i’ll owe you one. please?”

you crossed your arms. “and what exactly does fake dating involve? because i swear if this gets weird—”

“it won’t!” he exclaimed quickly, his face scrunching up in that stupidly cute way that made you want to throttle him and pinch his cheeks at the same time. “just little stuff. harmless things. like holding hands. maybe linking arms. y’know, couple things.”

you eyed him warily. “define ‘couple things.’”

<<<<<<<<<

“couple things” turned out to be… a lot. jungwon, in his infinite wisdom, decided you both needed to “practice” being a convincing couple. this involved a series of increasingly absurd activities that had you questioning his sanity—and yours for agreeing to any of it.

“okay,” jungwon said one afternoon, pacing in front of you like a drill sergeant. “let’s practice nicknames. couples always have nicknames.”

“we already have nicknames,” you pointed out. “you call me by my name, and i call you uwon to annoy you.”

“no, no, no.” he waved his hand dramatically. “those aren’t cute nicknames. i mean things like ‘baby,’ or ‘sweetheart,’ or… or ‘honeybuns.’”

you nearly choked. “honeybuns? jungwon, if you call me honeybuns in public, i will personally make sure your life is a living nightmare.”

“noted,” he said with a laugh. “okay, let’s keep it simple. i’ll call you… babe. and you can call me—”

“uwon,” you interrupted, grinning. “i’m sticking with uwon.”

he sighed but didn’t argue. “fine. but we still need to work on PDA. let’s practice holding hands.”

you raised an eyebrow. “jungwon, we’ve held hands before.”

“yeah, but not like this,” he said, reaching out to intertwine your fingers with his. his grip was warm and secure, and he gave your hand a small squeeze. “see? it’s all about the squeeze. it makes it look more real.”

“this is ridiculous,” you muttered, though your cheeks felt suspiciously warm.

<<<<<<<<<<<<

present.

weeks passed, and jungwon’s ex finally got the message. her death stares became less frequent until she eventually stopped showing up altogether. mission accomplished. but the fake dating didn’t stop.

“uwon,” you call softly, the nickname slipping out naturally as you shift in his arms. he hums, his chin still resting on your shoulder, but his hold on you tightens slightly.

you put the comic down and turn to face him, his hands automatically settling on your waist like it’s second nature. “what are we doing?” you ask, your tone light but pointed.

he blinks at you, his brows furrowing in confusion. “reading?”

you sigh, rolling your eyes. “not the comic. this.” you gesture between the two of you. “what is this, jungwon? because i’m pretty sure your ex isn’t spying on us anymore.”

jungwon freezes, his eyes darting away like he’s suddenly very interested in the corner of his room. “uh… practice?” he says weakly.

“practice for what?” you press, crossing your arms. “you said the whole point was to convince your ex. but she’s gone now. so why are we still… doing this?”

he scratches the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at you. “well, you know… just in case.”

“just in case of what?” you shoot back, leaning in slightly. “jungwon, are you hiding something?”

his face flushes, his mouth opening and closing like he’s searching for an excuse and coming up empty. finally, he blurts out, “okay, fine! i like you, alright?”

your brain short-circuits. “you… what?”

jungwon immediately panics, his hands flailing as he starts to babble. “oh my god, i’m sorry! i didn’t mean to just—i mean, i did, but not like this! and i totally get it if you don’t like me back, but—oh no, wait, please like me? or don’t? no, wait, maybe you could? or we could just pretend this never happened? or—”

“jungwon,” you interrupt, your voice sharp enough to cut through his spiral.

“yes?” he squeaks, his wide eyes meeting yours.

instead of answering, you grab the front of his shirt and pull him into a kiss. he freezes for a split second before melting against you, his lips moving softly against yours. the kiss deepens, and his eagerness makes you giggle into his mouth, causing him to pull back slightly, breathless.

“what’s so funny?” he asks, pouting.

“you,” you tease, your fingers still gripping his shirt. “you’re way too eager.”

his cheeks flush, but he doesn’t back down. instead, he grins mischievously and suddenly hovers over you, gently pushing you onto your back. “you stole a kiss from me,” he says, his voice low and playful, “so now you’re stuck with me. forever.”

before you can respond, he leans down and captures your lips again, this time with more confidence. his hands cradle your face, and the weight of him above you is both grounding and electrifying. when he finally pulls back, his forehead rests against yours, his smile soft but radiant.

“so…” he whispers, his tone teasing, “can we drop the ‘fake’ part now?”

you laugh, wrapping your arms around his neck. “yeah, i think we can.”

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 30/12✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@pandorainabox ha chiesto: Hope this isn't a dumb question,but do you plan to/already are posting the bio parents ah anywhere where it can be viewed all in one piece? With the between posts in tumblr,it gets confusing and I still don't quite know how to navigate it so I was curious if I could binge read it anywhere all in one clean read? (I constantly want to re-read it lmao,it brings me so much joy,its so damn cute!!) Anyway apologies for the random question!! I love your work,you're doing so good and I hope you have an absolutely wonderful rest of your day/night! Thank you so much for taking your time to read and respond if you do so!! 💚💚🌙

i mean… I THINK the masterpost is the easiest way to read it for now (and once you read one chapter you press “NEXT” at the end of it.)

if I would put it, let’s say, on Webtoon (which I can’t) it kind of would be the same thing. A list if chapters, when you click on one it opens the chapter with the 10-20 panels and then you click the “next” to go to the next one.

i don’t think putting all chapters from one part would be nice since it would be a super duper long list of panels (and the page would take a lot to load with so many medias) and one Part of the comic contains multiple arcs.

i’m open to suggestions though!

@robinpika ha chiesto: I was just wondering why is wukong kaiju form unstable? What inspired you to go that route

it was an headcanon of my of why we never see it in the show, even though it is present in JTTW AND war forms are… well normal in LMK, so I figured he must have a reason why he didn’t use it, considering it could have spare them a lot of trouble giving its power.

@imafluffycupcakey ha chiesto: I can't find the option to ask anonymously oof— Enyway this is Tumblr and that's what I'm here for. Ever made a design for a Red son and MK kid? From your AU I mean (ignoring every nature law for a second). Also, where did you got that name for MK from? Is something from Jurney to the west? Mainly thanks to your AU I am going to try and read that book (has more them a 1000 pages :') )

we all subconsciously agreed that the spicynoodle lovechild is Kai from lego ninjago and MK real name is his name in the chinese dub.

@avencaeheng ha chiesto: Can you reccomend any websites to watch lmk? 🙏

You can find MOST of the episodes on youtube. BUT you need also the specials to understand the story. If I link you a site in 2 weeks it will be down. The best is that you join the Lego Monkie Kid Fanspace discord. They have links to see the show and they update them every once in a while.

@astro-lmk-enjoyer ha chiesto: Another silly headcanon <3 Since MK unlocked he’s monkey form he started teething like a baby monkey but… adult. I don’t know how baby monkey teethe but when dogs teethe they get a lot more bite-y and the bites hurt a lot more than before teething. I can imagineMK getting a lot more bitey with things, like chewing food longer then needed be and maybe when he’s play fighting with the baby monkeys he bites one and it chirps and Wukong is like: ! One of my children is in need! And he discovers MK is teething and does something idk yet. After having given my evidence… Do you think this would happen? Does MK have fangs in his human form like how some people draw him?

hi! I guess he did have a period in which he had a little teething.

no, his human form doesn’t have fangs, because his human form is just a kind of glamour/shapeshift. In the AU the monkey form became his normal form (since it always has been his original form to begin with)

toomanylegos ha chiesto: Hey, I just want to say I absolutely adore your ShadowPeach comic and the beautiful art with it. I went through nasal surgery on the 19th, and seeing an update from you really helped soothe my nerves about it, so thank you! I can't wait to see more updates throughout my recovery :D burry-penguin ha chiesto: As a spicynoodle shipper I love your work sm and what ur doing for this community KEEPING US FEED FOR DAYSSS!! 🔥🍜 🔥🍜 You’re so amazing and keep doing what you’re doing because you’re a damn good story teller and artist. You’ll go so far someday! You’ve helped put a smile on my face on my best and worst days just from seeing each new update and going absolutely fuckin feral over it and I thank you for that 🫶 imafluffycupcakey ha chiesto: Not really a ask. I would just like to say I inhaled your AU comic like a vacum cleaner in less them a day, also big fan of the art style. Anonimo ha chiesto: I'm recovering from a toxic relationship and the shadowpeach bio parents au is helping me think through everything ,, The love these monkies show me how relationships are supposed to make you feel good... thank u

turtlewearingclothes ha chiesto: Howdy! I just wanted to say thank you for making your amazing comic, and being the reason I got into Lego Monkie Kid. I've heard of the show, but I never watched it. Then I came across your comic like, 2-3 weeks ago? And after binging it, I decided to watch the show, and now I'm obsessed lol. Thank you!

AWWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE!!!♥️♥️♥️

@selfdestructivecat ha chiesto: Hey so I recently binged your LMK comic because I absolutely fell in love with your ISAT x COTL comic and knew anything you made would be amazing. I’ve never seen LMK though so I’m sure I lost some of the context (it was still so good though, I’m really rooting for everything to work out for the characters!) But I decided to give the actual series a try because of the comic! And here was where I planned on writing you a message after a few episodes to thank you for getting me into a new series, but… I’m on episode one. I only watched the intro. Dude. IM ABSOLUTELY HOOKED. THE ANIMATION! THE STYLE! THE CHARACTERS! I’m so so excited to watch more (which I’m gonna do now!) but thank you so much for bringing this series to my attention!!!

ahaha welcome to the club!, now you can enjoy both comics!

@therivergirl ha chiesto: I remember back in the beggining of eclipse arc you mentioned that Mac feels insecure about his body being part of the reason he's hesitant to take of his clothes even in front of Wukong and it being part of the reason (aside from basic decency) that Wukong looked away. And now in this part Mac appears butt-naked to help Wukong out, adding yet another layer of vulnerability...gah! (Maybe I should finally watch LMK because I feel I would be doubly obsessed with this comic then...)

For Mac being exposed was the last of his issues considering that what he was seeing was Wukong at his lowest and most naked. Now excuse me while I cry.

@astro-lmk-enjoyer ha chiesto: You probably know Chang’E’s story from LMK, but did you know there is a second version of her story that I like better? In the second version Chang’E and her husband(I forgot his name), are getting used to living as mortals after being kicked out of heaven. But someone hears of the immortal elixir they have and try to steel it while Chang’E’s husband is out hunting. After getting beat up a bit she decides to drink the elixir so the robber couldn’t get it. But she instead went to the moon so she could be closer to her lover. Her husband dies because he’s still mortal, and Chang’E is left be herself. I have silly little headcanon the day MK and the others went to the moon was her and her husband’s anniversary 🙃 Bye <3

AH. OK.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Do you think that wukong and macaque act like cats?

as in they would purr? I moslty think Wukong wants to cuddle and stroke his head on Mac neck like a cat, while Mac is that one cat that sometime is annoyed when people touch him but eventually let them do it.

Anonimo ha chiesto: ✨Hear me out :3✨ MK can hear the past. He heard the fight of of prentice and held his eye like he was getting hurt by Wukong and not Macaque. So now picture this: MK has a vision again, his this time it is about how the monk used the circlet on him :3

AHAH. NOW HE CAN’T SEE TANG THE SAME WAY AGAIN. FUCK.

Anonimo ha chiesto: When I first found your comic in your TikTok account, I thought it was something very silly... How very VERY wrong I was.(As I get shot 57 times.) I hope you are taking very good care of yourself because when I downloaded Tumblr to keep myself updated to your comics(which was somewhere around 13-16 December probably) there are a LOT of panels. I enjoyed the newest and most recent parts of the shadowpeach bio parent au and can't wait for the next!!! Don't work yourself to the bone too much! Remember to take mental and physical breaks.

AGHDMHSMFYS THANK YOU!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: Are there others who flirt with MK ? He looks good, is very powerful and has a sunshine personality. I bet there are others who are interested in him

I guess there haven’t been any for NOW.

Anonimo ha chiesto: After reading the post about swk's circlet, I srsly want him to look at mk and say "oh, hey we're matching!" ... "OH SHIT WHY ARE WE'RE MATCHING?!"

NOOOOOO!!

@delightfulcupquakequeen ha chiesto: Hey there!!! Been awhile sincenI've written an ask, just wanted to send love and being greatful that you are doig this amazing AU!!!! Appreciating ever pannel you make and gosh dammit hitting me right in the korokoro!!!! Keep being your fabulous self!!! Until next time!

THANK YOUUUUU

@l1br4rycrypt1d ha chiesto: Feel free to ignore this if it's spoilers for the comic, but are we gonna get to see the Gold Star of Venus? Just curious, since you reblogged the meme post that mentioned him during the takeover

There will be a small space for them as well, yes.

@kaothedemon ha chiesto: Fun fact, while I doubt Pigsy has all of Zhu Bajie's powers, his ancestor did have a kaiju form, which he could use if he ate a fuckton I'm sure it's not gonna appear in the story, but the idea of Heaven having to deal with 3 Kaiju dads (+ theoretically a sworn uncle) is extremely funny to me (picture courtesy of OSP's latest JTTW episode cause even when I read the book there weren't any illustrations of this)

I SAW THAT!! Man now they must add it to the show. Yeah I don't think he has ALL of Zhu Bajie's powers (I don't think he would ever want to have them) but it would be interesting if it was a high stake situation

@roseltelle ha chiesto: I think Macaque would actually enjoy working/ volunteering at the playhouse specifically doing shadow plays. But he does regular plays as well. His favorite days are when classes of children come in for field trips. Wukong often paints the backdrops, scenery, and other items for plays. They both enjoy their hobbies.

Awwwww yeah I think Macaque would totally love that.

@lmk4ever ha chiesto: Can you imagine Wukong just being out of it after he distracted the celestials for too long in his war form?

I think that as soon as he sees Macaque again he immediately switch back and become behaved again.

@peach-fury ha chiesto: I think I know the answer but theoretically... Who's war form/kajiu is stronger Wukongs or Macaque's and how would it go? I don't know it started as a thought. Now I can't stop laughing.

Wukong's is stronger.

blbllblblblll ha chiesto: do you know the pronunciation of xiaotian? ive been stuck on how to say his name for so long 😭

I know that the "Qi" is pronunced "Chi" and I think "xiao" is pronunced the same as you would read it, while I THINK the "t" in "tian" is more of a mix between a t and a c/k? I aint chinese and the way I pronounce things or read them is probably different from u cause I'm italian.

eerieqloss ha chiesto: Okay question, is Wukong's war form bigger/taller than MK's?

it's taller.

@elliboom ha chiesto: I was wondering, will Erlang Shen ever appear in the Shadowpeach parent series? (And questa domanda la scrivo in italiano giusto per levarmi un’altra curiosità in futuro, preferisci che le domande vengono scritte solo in inglese o vanno bene anche in italiano? So che non ci sono molti italiani ad essere fan di LMK e JTTW, posso capire la scelta di scriverli solo in inglese per rispetto e far capire ai altri fan, e generalmente per scrivere le domande uso google translate, perché faccio pena con la grammatica inglese, mi scuso se in futuro farò domande con qualche errore 🥲🥲)

Si apparirà. Manda pure in italiano shalla ahah.

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Team Fortress 2 fic banner in the style of the game's achievement icons--specifically, the "Full Spectrum Warrior" achievement. On the left of the banner, Spy and Pyro, shown in orange silhouettes with dark gray outlines, stand together beneath a grayscale rainbow (in yellow-white, gray, and dark gray shades) on a dark gray background. Both characters have their backs to the viewer. Spy, on the left, is holding up a cigarette as he looks up, while Pyro, on the right, is holding up both his fists, shoulders hunched in an excited gesture. On the bottom right of the banner is a transparent gray rectangle with yellow-white text reading: "CHAPTER ELEVEN: FULL SPECTRUM WARRIOR" /end ID]

Flickering

Fandom: Team Fortress 2 Rating: K+ Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Characters: Spy, Pyro, Scout, Sniper, and all the other mercs. Warnings: General references to trauma and PTSD Fic Description: After the events of the comics, the mercs try to go back to how things were, but it’s never that easy.

Spy can see his teammates going through their own struggles… but something seems to be very, very wrong with Pyro in particular.

And since no one else seems to be doing anything about this, Spy makes it his mission to get to the bottom of what is troubling Pyro. For no particular reason.

Beta Readers: @mechmolar, @gonturan0, @junuve

---~~~---

Chapter 11: Full Spectrum Warrior Summary: In which Pyro is more perceptive than Spy is prepared for.

---~~~---

The shock of respawn was made all the more jarring by a cascade of cold water crashing over him.

Spy shuddered, staggering out from under the hole in the ceiling and rubbing his right wrist. His hand was intact once again, though the ribbons of blood in the rainwater still streaming out of spawn was evidence enough for what had happened. He stared down at it, frowning, before his head shot up again, whipping around the room.

No one else was there.

Before he could question this, an angry "You failed!" rang out through the base's speakers.

Well, there went their winning streak.

Reaching into his inner pocket, he pulled out his disguise kit, pleased to see his cigarettes had dried in respawn. He lit one, and strode into the doorway, waiting to meet the others on their return. Sure enough, Soldier and Sniper quickly dropped into respawn, followed by Demo and Heavy, all of them having been picked off during the humiliation round. Meanwhile, Engineer trudged up the stairs, followed by Scout and Medic.

There was no sign of the Pyro.

As those in spawn hurried out from under the cascade of rainwater, Soldier crossed his arms. "We may have tasted bitter defeat, men, but that will only make our next victory that much sweeter!"

"Aye, not a bad thought," Demo said, smiling at Soldier. However, his face fell as he turned to the Sniper, who looked a shade paler than normal as he stared down at the water at his feet. When Demo placed a hand on Sniper's shoulder, Spy looked away.

Medic and Scout looked every which way after mounting the stairs, both of them wide-eyed and shaken. "I-is it still...?" Scout stammered, looking up at Spy, who shook his head. Breathing out a sigh, Scout relaxed a fraction before swinging his arm out to gesture at spawn. "What was up with that?! I get my brains blasted by the BLU sniper and wake up to that thing—"

"Enough." Spy exhaled a stream of smoke. "It's been taken care of."

"Well, where is it?" Engineer asked, heaving up his toolbox into his arms. "We'd best be gettin' outta here before this storm gets any worse."

"I will take care of it," Spy replied, flicking his cigarette butt into the water. "You all focus on retreating for now."

Though clearly unhappy with his word choice, the others nodded, and began getting their things together as they prepared to leave. Spy avoided the gazes of Engie, Medic, and Scout as they passed him, and initially paid little attention to the others. But he couldn't help noticing Demo's practically guiding Sniper around like some kind of half-blind seeing-eye dog. He watched them out of the corner of his eye, but looked away when Demo glanced in his direction.

Slowly but surely the spawn room emptied, leaving Spy standing by himself, watching the rain that continued to pour from the ceiling. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, the patter of the rain intermingling with the radio static in his mind, before he began to realize the rain was slowing.

Grunting, he pulled himself away from the wall, retrieved his belongings from his locker, and stepped down the stairs. He did not make a show of looking around, only lighting another cigarette. "The storm is calming, if you want to take your chance to leave now."

He waited a few moments, and, sure enough, heard a shuffling noise beneath the stairs. Turning, he watched as Pyro crawled out from under the stairs and tilted its head at him.

"It was the only place you could hide that would be dry," Spy said, and Pyro lowered its head. "Now would be the time to gather your things."

Pyro glanced at him briefly before trudging up the stairs. It returned shortly with its purse slung over its shoulder, its flare gun and axe on its belt, and its flamethrower under its arm.

Though he grimaced at the weapons, Spy nodded. "Very well. Let us be off."

Once again Pyro glanced at Spy before turning to face the doorway leading out. Rain still fell, albeit in a gentler way that often seemed to happen when they had to fight over the sawmill. In spite of the downgrade from the previous torrential downpour, Pyro hung back.

Spy stepped closer to the door and looked back. "Would you rather wait to see if the weather worsens, or until BLU kills us for technically still being on their territory?"

Sighing, Pyro crept closer to the doorway, but hesitated once again.

Even Spy felt anxiety prickling under his skin as he looked between the rain and the Pyro, his mind still seeing its face split open, yellowed fangs gleaming. He swallowed back his fear. "Your suit protects you, no?"

It nodded.

"Then this is our best chance to leave. Come." With that, he stepped out into the rain. It was not near so terrible as it had been, but it was still cold, and it felt no better on his already-soaked clothing. He glanced back at Pyro, who looked between him and the sky a few times before ducking its head and stepping out.

Immediately its filter hissed with a sharp intake of breath, and it began to shudder.

"You are protected, and your assailant is dead," Spy said firmly, trying to force down his own anxiety. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we escape this rainstorm. Move." He hurried down the muddy path toward the open gates, and with a quiet grunt, Pyro followed him. Spy barely resisted the urge to look over his shoulder to make sure Pyro's head wasn't opening again. But nothing happened, and soon they were past the gates and heading down the hilly forest trail. Some of the trees gave them reprieves from the rain, but for the most part, they were walking back to their hidden parking spot without much in the way of cover. The path was dotted with the footprints of the other mercs who had already left, which might have been charming had it not meant they had to constantly watch their feet to avoid tripping in the upturned mud, especially when it came to Heavy's deep footprints.

Finally the red of Spy's sports car caught their eyes, and Spy heaved a sigh of relief as he fished his keys out of his pocket. Before entering, however, he began knocking his foot against a tree trunk. "Get your boots clean," he said, not looking up. "You will not track mud into my car."

When he looked up, he gave a start at seeing that Pyro had not followed him. "Where are you going?" he called out. "Get over here!"

Pyro looked back, surprised, but did not approach Spy until he waved it over. Once it got closer, it looked from Spy's car and back to Spy before tipping its head.

"Yes, you are riding with me. Did you suppose I would make you walk home?"

Pyro lowered its head.

"Please. I would not make you do that... unless you dirtied up my car. Move." With that, he stepped into the driver's seat. After a moment of thought, he hopped back out and popped the trunk open. "Weapons in here, please." After that, he slid back into the car and listened as Pyro reluctantly deposited its weapons into the trunk. It must have stared down at them for a long moment before it slammed the trunk shut and slipped into the passenger's seat.

Nodding, Spy pulled the car out and began the drive back to the base. With a few flips of switches, the windshield wipers started up, and the car slowly began to heat. Normally he would be bemoaning the fact that he'd need to visit the car wash, or have his shoes cleaned, but with Pyro sitting beside him, his mind was on other things.

Pyro remained silent, staring down at its feet. Spy returned the silence, keeping his eyes on the road.

The swishing of the windshield wipers, the patter of rain on the top of the car, the rush of heated air, and the grumbling of the engine filled their ears with their soothing song. But beneath that lay a silent tension that even that chorus could not touch.

It was broken by a quiet, questioning hum.

Spy gave a start, nearly slamming on the breaks, and glanced over to see Pyro facing him. He frowned. "You're wondering why," he said, and noted the nod out of the corner of his eye. "I needed to..." He grimaced. "You needed catharsis. Your attacker was killed before you could take revenge. I know the feeling." His mind wandered briefly to the sniper that had shot him in the leg, but he pulled himself away and glanced back at Pyro again.

It was quiet, contemplative. It drew a finger across its neck, then tapped the back of its head.

Spy thought for a moment, then hummed. "In our defense, you were attacking us during your episode. Though I suppose I had meant for you to attack me when I took on that disguise." He paused, shifting in his seat and feeling a phantom pain flare up in his right wrist. Even so, he tried to push past it, thinking instead about the Pyro, and how it must have felt, finally attacking the woman who had surely been plaguing its nightmares. "It must have helped, non?"

For a while, Pyro sat in silence, staring down at its feet, and Spy almost wondered if it hadn't heard his question. The rain was finally slowing, so it wasn't as though his words were being drowned out by the noise. But then it lifted its head and slowly tilted it to one side, then to the other.

Brow furrowing, Spy frowned. "You don't know?"

Pyro shrugged its shoulders, then hung its head.

For a long moment, Spy sat, the pain in his wrist slowly returning, along with the pain in his back, and his shoulder, and his throat—no part of him was damaged physically anymore after the respawn, but the pain was still there, the pain he'd endured with the thought that it would solve their problems, put an end to this—this—

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?!"

He hadn't realized that he'd slammed on the breaks or that he'd shouted until Pyro jumped back, leaning away from him with a shudder. The sight did nothing to quell the fire that had abruptly sprung up within him, the heat escaping through his mouth, through his words:

"I have spent the past month watching you, seeing your pain, spending my free time trying to help you! I lost sleep, lost our match—I let you put me through hell! And you are telling me all of that amounted to nothing?!" He found himself glaring into the Pyro's lenses, even as it leaned farther into the door behind it. "Was killing that woman not enough? Was killing me? Was killing Jeremy not—"

At once it was gone, his rage turned to cold horror as the smell of Jeremy's blood filled his nostrils, the gaping wound in Jeremy's stomach glaring in his vision, the weight of Jeremy's body growing heavier in his arms.

He faced the road ahead of him, hands in a death grip on the steering wheel. His throat and chest ached, and not from the memory of old wounds.

It doesn't matter, Spy told himself distantly. He's alive.

He could not speak.

There is no reason to feel like this.

His hands shook.

It doesn't matter.

Slowly, a soft noise reached him—Pyro was shifting in its seat. Spy did not look at it, not even when it made a soft hum.

Nor when it reached for him, gently pulling his hand away from the steering wheel and giving it a squeeze.

Something within Spy crumbled.

Frantically he pulled away from Pyro, and pulled his car off the road. After putting the car in park, he threw the door open, jumped out, and stared at nothing, his vision blurring. He felt like his body had gone invisible and had left him behind, somehow, standing frozen and lost. He could hardly think, his mind still in a distant whirl of memories, both recent and not, and a horrible tide of emotions welling up within him, emotions he didn't know the source of, and yet knew exactly the source of, filling his chest until it was painfully tight, ready to burst—

Pyro was suddenly beside him, grabbing his hands, prying them away from his arms—he hadn't even realized he'd been holding them, the muscles aching from the grip—and moving them away, holding his hands tightly in its own. It said nothing, and as the sensation began to ground him, he realized it was staring intently into his eyes. Gradually it released one of his hands, and placed a hand firmly on his back.

The tightness in Spy's chest uncoiled, and tears spilled down his face, soaking into his mask. His legs felt weak, and he crumpled forward, allowing himself to be caught by the Pyro, burying his face into its chest. His shoulders shook as sobs bubbled up through his chest and throat—physical representations of the emotions that had been lying festering within him over the past several days—no, over the past month or more.

Since his son had died in his arms.

It was nonsense, stupid, pointless, but he couldn't stop himself. The fact that Jeremy was alive and well did nothing to calm him, to rid him of this agony, to dry his tears.

Much like the death of Beatrice did not cause Pyro's episodes to end, nor its colors to return.

He didn't know how long the two of them stood there, off the side of the road, halfway to the base, on that strange, rainy day. But eventually the tears within Spy ran dry, and the ugly emotions abated, at least for the time being, leaving him feeling drained, exhausted. Slowly he pulled away from Pyro, and did not look up. "Get back into the car," he croaked.

Pyro stared at him for a few uncomfortable seconds before walking around to the side of the car and stepping in.

Once the door was shut, Spy faced away from the vehicle, and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. With practiced precision, he lifted his mask away from his face, and cleaned it. The mask was still dirty—there was nothing to be done there—but at least the rain had soaked it through anyway, so no one else would identify that it was soaked by anything else.

With his face now as clean as it would get for the time being, Spy pocketed his handkerchief, pulled the mask back down, and stepped back into the car.

The two sat in awkward silence, broken only by the faint patter of rain against the roof and windshield.

Spy drew in a breath. "You saw nothing."

Slowly Pyro turned to face him, and Spy's skin crawled when the Pyro's face partially split down the middle, revealing its yellow fangs, but not opening its mouth any further.

It took Spy a minute to realize it was grinning at him.

—

Scents of coppery blood, acrid smoke, and reeking mildew mingled with the sensations of throbbing aches and sharp pains, driving Spy to drag himself into consciousness. The feelings and smells lingered even when he crawled out of bed, even as the rain continued to pound against the roof of the building. He peered through the curtains, dreading fighting in this mess.

With a sigh, he changed into his usual outfit, wincing at a pain in his leg that should have been long gone.

In contrast with the musty, cold smell of the rain outside was the warm coffee scent that drew him downstairs. As he headed into the mess hall, Spy pondered asking Engie what made him decide to get up so early like this, only to freeze in the doorway.

Sniper sat in the unlit room, nursing a mug of coffee. For once he did not wear his sunglasses, though the darkness of the room and the steam from his drink hid his expression. He did not look up.

Frowning, Spy dipped into the kitchen to pour himself a mug of coffee, though he did not drink it just yet, rather, holding the mug and letting its warmth seep into his gloves. Eventually he stepped into the mess hall again, leaning his back against the wall.

"What unearthly hour did you awake?" Spy finally asked.

It was a moment before Sniper answered. "I haven't slept." His voice was hoarse.

"...I see." Spy stared down at his coffee before taking a seat at the table, one chair over from where Sniper sat. He continued to let the warmth from the mug seep into his hands before taking a sip. When Sniper remained silent, Spy cleared his throat. "I take it the storm brought you... unpleasant memories?"

"Not in the way you're thinking."

Spy shrugged. "Beyond the pain, I imagine being thrust into nonexistence for several hours was probably—"

"I saw my parents."

Freezing, Spy slowly turned toward Sniper. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to see his companion staring blankly down at his mug. For the briefest of moments, he wondered what Jeremy saw— "I am not getting into a theological discussion at six in the morning."

Sniper looked up, the blunt statement jolting him out of his melancholy.

Before he could question anything, a low tone rang throughout the base. Sniper and Spy both sat up straight, exchanged glances, and scrambled out of their seats, nearly tripping over each other as they made a beeline for the security room.

When they arrived, two buttons on the panel were lit, as was a single screen, which read, "Incoming transmission."

Spy exchanged another glance at Sniper before jabbing the top button, and the screen flickered before displaying a message that read, "Voice only." So, not Miss Pauling. It could be the Administrator, but—

"RED?"

The Texan accent made Sniper jump, and Spy furrow his brow. The voice was deeper than their own Engineer's, and the way they had been addressed made it clear just what they were dealing with.

"Yes, we're here," Spy replied calmly. There was no need for hostility outside of the matches, especially when he had fought alongside this very engineer when dealing with Gray Mann's robots.

"BLU Engie here, speakin' on behalf of my team. We're, uh, dealing with a lot of structural damage to our base on account of the recent storms. We haven't talked to the boss yet, but—dang it, we're calling a temporary ceasefire. Ain't none of us got any sleep last night."

Sniper growled under his breath, looking away. "Are we really gonna trust them?"

With a flick of the mute switch, Spy shook his head. "It's not their spy, at least. He tends to throw in more southern slang when disguised as their engineer. Not to mention, we've seen the same storms. Their base being damaged is not surprising." He flicked the switch again. "Very well, we accept the terms of ceasefire. But this was your idea, and the Administrator's wrath is on you."

A heavy sigh crackled over the speaker. "Don't I know it. Well, we'll be seeing all y'all on the battlefield whenever we get this patched up. And don't worry—we'll take real good care of that winning streak we took from ya."

The screen flickered to a message reading, "Transmission ended."

"'Course he had to get the last word in," Sniper grunted.

"It hardly matters now. They got lucky once. Time will tell if their guns are as swift as their words." Spy shut off the screen and took a swig of his coffee, which had gone from hot to now merely warm. "For now, I suppose we enjoy our day off."

"Never did like those," Sniper muttered. He stepped away from the console and headed out of the room, Spy following. "What do they expect us to do with ourselves anyway?"

As if in response, a peal of thunder rumbled outside.

"Be glad you won't be out fighting in that," Spy remarked.

Rather than heading back to the mess hall, the two of them made their way to a window, watching the sky slowly, slowly lighten behind the angry rainclouds. As they did so, Spy couldn't help but notice the bags under Sniper's eyes. Something struck him, and he grit his teeth, glaring out the window.

It took several moments for him to force himself to speak: "Well, there is one good thing about this weather."

Sniper did not look up. "Yeah?"

"The rainwater loosened the earth, making it easier to... dig up things." Spy paused, briefly, before continuing: “Anyway, I should inform the others of our impromptu day off." With that, he patted Sniper on the shoulder and quickly headed back toward the mess hall. Instinct told him that Sniper had turned to watch him leave, and he did not turn back.

It wasn't long before Engineer was down in the kitchen and whipping up breakfast. He seemed tense until Spy told him about the mercenary's counterpart's message.

"Sure it won't take 'em long to patch that place up," Engineer remarked, and flipped a pancake a few feet into the air before catching it in the pan. His cooking seemed to take on a comfortable rhythm to it, as opposed to the mechanical movements Spy had seen yesterday.

As usual, Soldier's terrible rendition of reveille woke up the rest of the base. Slowly the other mercenaries filed down into the mess hall, including Sniper, whom Spy avoided the gaze of.

"Man," Scout grumbled as he trudged into the doorway, pausing to stretch. "Another day of fightin' in this crap."

"About that," Spy said. "BLU called a temporary ceasefire."

Immediately Scout sprang to attention. "Wait, really?" At Spy's nod, Scout let out a whoop, holding up his arms. "All right! Ya year that, Demo?" He glanced over his shoulder. "We got a day oooaaaAAAAAAAAAGHHH!" His voice leaped up into a shriek as he jumped back from the doorway on one foot, hands held up in a defensive gesture.

Pyro stared at him blankly from the doorway, arms held calmly at its sides.

Sighing, Spy strode past Scout and closer to the doorway. "Calm down. Pyro is not going to be killing anyone today. Isn't that right?"

Pyro nodded.

"Y... yeah," Scout stammered, slowly recovering from his defensive position and wrapping a hand around his stomach. "Yeah, that's real reassuring."

The brief scare was all but forgotten as Engineer called everyone into the kitchen to retrieve their breakfast. As he retrieved his own food, Spy spotted Archimedes on the shoulder of one of the mercs, and did a double-take when he realized it was not Medic's shoulder, but Heavy's. The Heavy was petting the bird gently with one finger, talking to it softly and giving it bits of pancake and sausage... until Medic struck Heavy on the back of the head with an empty plate and shoo'd the bird away.

"Stop it, you're spoiling him," Medic grumbled.

Heavy did not look the least bit ashamed as he piled his own plate with sausages and biscuits. "Da. Is point."

As Spy took some food for himself, he kept an eye on Pyro, who was keeping well behind the others. It did at least come into the kitchen to get its own food, rather than refusing to eat at all, so that was something, at least. Once it had filled its plate, it slunk over to the corner of the mess hall, facing everyone else, and did not immediately make a move to eat its food.

As closely as Spy observed the others, he'd never noticed exactly how Pyro ate. It was something he'd tried to catch in the past, but had failed at every time, even when watching while disguised. After the events of yesterday, he now had a pretty good guess as to how Pyro consumed its food.

He was mildly surprised at how little it disturbed him.

But he also felt a spark of irritation when Medic approached Pyro, who shrank back, a hand to its throat. Spy nearly stood up, but stopped himself when Medic retrieved a pink lollypop from his coat pocket and held it up to Pyro, who relaxed, reaching out to take the candy. Medic pulled it away and said something to Pyro, who looked away, until Medic retrieved three more pieces of candy from his coat pocket. It looked up at the Medic before tilting its head to one side, then the other. This was apparently enough to satisfy the Medic, who pocketed the candy again and stepped away, smiling.

"Attempting to bribe it with more candy, I see," Spy remarked as Medic walked past him.

"If it works, I have no complaints," Medic replied with a shrug. "So long as I can fill out more of its medical forms!"

So long as you're not harassing it, Spy thought, then shook his head. He finished the rest of his meal in silence, idly listening to the talk around him. Sniper and Demo were engaged in a quiet conversation on one end of the table, Heavy was listening in amusement to another rant from Medic about spoiling his birds, while Engineer, Soldier, and Scout discussed a game that would be on later, the latter two with a great deal of animation. His gaze lingered on the last group as he finished his meal.

After depositing his plate in the kitchen, Spy stepped out into the mess hall again, where everyone was still engaged in their own conversations. Pyro had stepped out during the short time he'd been gone, leaving an empty plate with no utensils on the table. Frowning, Spy headed toward the door, only to pause by the end of the table. The sports talk seemed to have devolved from friendly banter about teams to something a bit more... heated.

"I'm tellin' you, you cow-herdin' Canadian, your 'Tex-Mex' food is a contamination of real American dishes!"

"Yeah, well, got some news for you about your so-called 'all-American' dishes, Soldier. You ever heard of a melting pot?"

"Sounds like a French invention! True Americans only deep-fry their food!"

Spy ignored Soldier and Engineer, instead turning his attention to Scout, who was listening to the argument with his brow furrowed and chin resting on the heel of his hand, eyes occasionally rolling. He was all too eager to escape the argument when Spy cleared his throat.

"Yeah, what's up?" Scout asked, swinging around to sit on the side of his chair.

Spy stood beside Scout, his back to the table, and casually lit a cigarette. "So... how are you feeling after yesterday?"

Initially Scout blinked in surprise, then looked away. "Ugh, tryin' to forget that crap. My guts hurt if I think about it too long."

"I see." Spy breathed a smoke ring toward the ceiling, watching it ascend. "I wouldn't worry too much. The phantom pain will ease on its own."

"Uh, yeah, probably." Scout shifted in his seat. Behind him, his companions sounded close to literally butting heads, but he made no move to look back at them, nor forward at Spy.

After an awkward silence, Spy continued: "Your addition to the plan was a good one."

Scout nodded, only to sit upright. "Wait—yeah? I mean, yeah! Of course it was!" Grinning, he leaned back. "Y'know, you and Engie ain't the only thinkers around here. I can do a little strategizin' when I feel like it."

"Yes, and I'm sure you would've been able to follow through with it." It was something he might've said sarcastically at a previous time, but there was no sarcasm in his words.

Scout clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Yeah," he muttered, but paused as Spy's tone registered. "I—wait, you think so?"

"Of course. I'm sure had it not been for... extenuating circumstances, you would have pulled it off." Smiling, Spy began to stride out of the room. "For once."

"Yeah! I totally could've—hey!"

Still smiling, Spy said nothing as he slipped out into the hallway, intent on tracking down the Pyro. He made it halfway down the hall when the rapid squeak of sneakers against hardwood made him pause. His instinct, his naturally mysterious nature urged him to not look back, but something else deeper within him stirred, and he turned.

Scout came to an awkward stop, scratching the back of his head. "Hey, um..." He straightened his baseball cap.

Spy remained quiet, waiting.

Scout's gaze was to the ground, his feet shifting his body left and right. "Just... wanted to say, uh. Thanks for the help... yesterday. With Pyro." Slowly, he raised his head, and Jeremy looked Spy in the eyes. "I... owe you one."

For a short eternity, Spy stared at his son, something stirring in his chest.

Said eternity was broken when Scout suddenly stepped forward, jabbing a finger at him. "Do not make me regret saying that!"

Spy laughed, shaking his head and looking away. But he quieted himself, looking down at the floor. "...If that phantom pain of yours does not ease on its own," he began, and Scout took a step back, lowering his arm, "it... may help to say a few words to someone about it."

"I... uh." Scout rubbed his arm. "Okay, thanks."

Clattering noises and shouts rang from the mess hall behind them.

"You may want to be sure Soldier did not bring his rocket launcher to breakfast."

"Wait—aw, crap." With that, Scout spun around, charging back into the mess hall. "Hey, Soldier—Soldier! Put that thing down, man!"

Once Scout was gone, Spy let out a long sigh, lightly rubbing a knuckle beneath his eye—he'd gotten some of his cigarette smoke into it. He resumed heading down the hall, only to pause again when he spotted a pair of lenses staring at him.

Pyro tilted its head, and walked away.

—

It was toward the afternoon that, upon noticing the lack of rain pounding against the roof, Spy emerged from his smoking room. Unfortunately, a trip to one of the windows informed him that the rain had not stopped—only lessened to a light patter. The sky had brightened somewhat, at least, but no one seemed in any hurry to leave with the ground as muddy as it was.

When Spy headed for the kitchen to make a quick meal, he took note of Pyro sitting at the empty mess hall table, patched-up crayon box at its side and blank dot-matrix paper before it. It gave Spy a quiet hum of acknowledgment, to which Spy gave a silent nod in return.

"I'm preparing a meal, if you would like something," he offered, but Pyro only shook its head, gesturing to an empty plate at its side. Shrugging, Spy took the plate into the kitchen.

When Spy stepped out later with a plate of food, he prepared to sit at the table, only to pause. He stared into the hallway, which was a great deal lighter than before. Curious, he set his plate aside and began heading for the window at the end of the hall.

Sunlight streamed into the hallway, but rain still fell. Frowning, Spy stepped closer to the window, peering outside. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen a sunshower—

Something caught his eye, and he immediately spun around, bolting back into the mess hall. "Pyro!" he called, stopping in the doorway. Pyro looked up from its coloring, tilting its head. "Get out here, quickly."

Sensing the urgency in Spy's tone, Pyro pushed away from the table and followed him out to the window. When Spy stopped, it stood by his side, staring, and made a quiet noise of surprise.

A smile crept across Spy's features. "You see it, then?"

At that, Pyro slumped slightly, tilting its head one way, then the other. But it leaned forward again, placing its hands against the window and staring intently.

Outside, as mild rain pattered down through the relentless sunshine, a rainbow stretched out just beyond the fort, disappearing somewhere deep into the sky.

Spy stood beside the Pyro, staring at the rainbow with it and wondering just how much it could see. It wasn't perfect vision, but evidently, it was enough to keep its attention. After a moment, he patted it on the shoulder before turning back toward the mess hall. As he did so, his smile faded.

It wasn't what he'd hoped for, although part of him had to wonder how he could've been naive enough to hope for it at all. Nothing was going to make the colors magically return, but... apparently something was happening.

When Spy entered the mess hall, he noticed Pyro's papers still sitting on the table, and they were no longer blank. Curious, he took a step closer, only to give a start.

It was a drawing of himself and Pyro, still in shades of gray... and patches of red.

[xitsensunmoon]

Hi Xits! It's so nice to see you on my dashboard again :DDD

I have a few questions about your boys if you don't mind answering them (and if you can/want obv):

1) Will y/n mend their clothes at some point? Or buy the same but new outfits?

2) (dunno if it's been answered before, probably yes but-) do they need to charge in addition to drinking blood or is charging like what would be normal eating for a human-then-vampire? (They can but it doesn't do much to relieve their hunger?)

3) I remember in one of your old comics (and yes I'm still thinking about it) Sun warned y/n to stay away from Moon during one of his episodes (virus induced? Starvation? Virus induced hunger??? Mmhh) How frequently do they happen? Does Sun have similar moments? And if he does who's gonna tell y/n? I don't feel like Moon would care much about their safety at the beginning...what if they both have one at the same time?

4) do they smell the scent of blood or do they detect it like how in fanfic the dca can detect injuries and heart rate?

5) do they want to return to "normal"? Can they return to normal?  (how did they get like that in the first place. I'm still looking 👁️👁️)

7) how old are they? How many years have passed from their daycare time? How would they react if someone mentioned the topic? do you have some of your (delicious) angst at hand?

8) are there others like them? 🌚

9) moon can sing. Why he not sing. Me want moon sing.

10) they have access to a PC and internet. What do they do online? Do they try to interact with others? Do they play games? If yes, what genre do they like?

And last but not least: how was your day? Did you have nice holidays? :D

Sorry for the long ask but I might return (eventually) with more questions >:)))

Hi!!! Haven't seen you in so long!

1. It is a bit difficult to find something- anything- that will fit them, so the only thing they can do is properly fix the clothes they have. So yes, you definitely will end up taking care of their outfits and even spend a bit of time to teach Sun and Moon how to take care of them themselves.

2. Oh they wish they could renew their energy by charging.

3. All I can say as of now, the "episode" has happened because of Moon's own negligence, what exactly has happened is yet to be discussed.

4. They smell the blood, but not in the exact same way human sense of smell works. It is more of its own separate sense, disturbance in the force if you will haha. The word "feel" would fit a bit better. Like humans can feel change in temperature, they can feel blood... even if it's in a vessel.

5. :)

6. It's been less than a decade.

7. Not that they know of...

8. His lullabies were always reserved for people he cares about, when he's happy or peaceful. None of these things are the case as of now :(

9. They prefer to limit their Internet activity to a minimum, for their own reasons. But if they do use it, only as observers. And to play offline games. Like Stardew walley. They fight over it a lot. Sun even has a little notebook where he keeps quite detailed notes on how to "properly and more effectively" play the game. Moon wants to flush that thing down the drain so badly...

And as for me - I'm unfortunately spending my holidays sick<///3 I had some very tasty food tho jsjsj hope yours are better!!

Also I love long asks!! Especially when I know I can give an answer hehe. Do return :)

[dianagj-art]

Am over here biting each art you post, each info you post about One or onion as if it's 5★ dish BECAUSE IT IS THAT TASTY 🩷🩷🩷

Few questions (remember if you don't feel comfortable about or don't want because of spoilers feel free to ignore):

- What causes you to have the genius idea of putting an animation in few panels of the comic? Like did you thought of it? Did somebody/friend suggested it?

- name one friend/ROTTMNT AU you don't mind to have their character/OC in your comic even as a background character?

- What causes One to change his mind about the mad dogs and decided to join their family?

- If you have a plot about making a new episode of ROTTMNT that involves One (and maybe somebody else; could be one of the brothers or splinter or anybody you want) what the plot's gonna be about?

- if onion (i keep calling F!One that, the disrespect is unimaginable am sorry 🥲) followed the movie plot would he end up ashes like canon F!Leo or will he make it back alive with casey JR?

- how's One's bond with Cassandra?

- how does One feel about Draxum demoting from an alchemist to a lunch lady? (LBH this's funny job for him).

- do you plan on putting an episode about One & Draxum AFTER their redemption? Like will they forgive and (probably not) forget?

- Name or draw one outfit you would love for One or draxum to wear as their casual clothes.

- any cute, funny or wholesome HCs about One after his redemption arc?

That's all for now! Again thank you if you answered my questions but if not then it's all good👍

Have a great week and take care of yourself 🩷

1)Oh, I just answered something about this here, but the short version is: I've wanted to do a mix of animation and comics for a long time (a zelda comic was my first inspiration for this) When I started this au it was gonna be an animatic so when I changed that to comic form, I still had a few things that I really wanted to have animated

2 )I'm not gonna @ them to not bother them, but I think I'm gonna end up having the sep council on the bg at some point lmao, this ask is from october and the reason I have been holding it back from answering is cause I kind of already did with the wall of champions on the last update!

3) for spoilers reasons I wont get too deep into this one, but while there IS a defining moment of him taking a choice, is not that what matters, what matters the most is the journey, after all, is the time he has spend with his brothers up to that point is what makes him flip sides

4)I do have a few episodes planned like that! right now I'm following the episodes that already exist cause is fun to see them change with the au, but I also have some that are things I made up! One I'm excited about is with Raph and One having some solo time on the Hidden City

5) "the disrespect" LMAO my brain refused to call him Oneion too at first, but is just easier with all the leos of the crossovers. He's not gonna go back with Casey Jr, sorry, his fate is not set in stone yet but I do know he's not gonna end up in ashes. I'm not gonna explain more than that lol

6) this has been asked a lot so I'm just gonna throw these here too @damonagel04-blog

One and Cass end up having a weird little friendship, based on mutual respect. After teaming up with the Foot Clan for canon plot reasons, One fights all the foot recruits as a training/demostration kid of thing and the only one who can stand their ground against him is her, and of course he finds her fun to fight, cause he can actually have a fight with her. After that they go on missions together, cause they force One to be with a team and he doesn't do teams but agrees if she goes, because she is actually a good fighter and competent enough to carry out the mission

Also, I have the headcanon that they can't use their real names on the Foot Clan, that's why they call her Recruit. you just give out your name if you actually trust the other person, but given the fact that everyone serious on the foot clan is a shady ninja and the other part of the foot are random people, she had never actually given her name to anyone. After a few missions together, Cass decides she can actually trust One with her name

They do end up being friends, tho One would never call it that, at least not pre-redemption

7) One doesn't really think much of it, he knows Draxum likes to cook, he has cooked for him his whole life, so he ending up with a cooking job on the surface is not so weird, and he knows Draxum has to lay low so it makes sence for him to be on such a crappy place. Plus One's gonna have another things in mind to worry about, he wouldn't have brains to judge that.

8) Oh I have so many things planned for their journey post redemption, but those are spoilers, they will eventually end up in a better place

9) I do have some doodles of one on casual clothes (1) (2), Draxum I honeslty have no idea

10) I'm gonna give you one thing with each of the hamatos:

Mikey teaches One to cook, he learn the hard way that you have to give One very specific instructions on what to do or he'll fuck up

One likes spending time on Donnie's lab, just lounging while Donnie works (is familiar to him), Donnie has a beanbag where he goes to nap sometimes while pulling consecutive allnighters, One ends up claiming that spot for himself

Raph helps One work through his anger issues, having experience working on his own, he's also the one One opens up the most

Splinter overhears One saying he used to wear a robe when being at his home and gets him a few. One ends up getting suck into watching telenovelas with Splinter

One likes putting on face masks with April, they end up having full "spa days" at April's at least once a month

and that's it! thanks for the ask!

[zahri-melitor]

I actually was thinking the other day that it was about time I saw another "how many comics have you read" poll go around the community, as it had been several thousand comics since the last time I answered one.

...I was hoping for one with more reasonable bins though.

I've made this point before but say JUST reading Batfam post-Crisis 1991-2011 gets you 700 if you read mainline Nightwing, Robin, Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Batman & Robin, and their associated annuals, event comics and extras.

[ganondoodle]

(OC Lore and design time!)

(it got longer again ... sorry ... idk how to make things short, i just need to talk, but i guess if you can read the written stuff in the pic thats the barest bare bones of what i wrote here)

i was asked what new lore story stuff i had thought about that made me sad which i mentioned a bit ago, and while that is too hard to explain given all the missing context i thought i could at least talk about lore having to do with it :D

so, (Lord) Eadrya is one of my fav OCs (big blue lad, here a rough sketch in humanoid form) they are both one of if not THE most powerful demon alive and the most battle trained;

at the mid point of the story the demon world gets invaded by the celestials (the angel inspired things i talked about in the previous lore post with Xaror) and Shargon, as the king, should be their first and only frontline, but at this point his life is only being sustained by maschinery after being mortally wounded, he cannot fight (he realizes what is going on, rips himself off the maschinery to get at least his youngest child to safety, barely managing it before dying- the guardian, the demons god, takes over his body to attempt to fight against the celestials but cant keep itself alive long enough since its host is already dead) Eadrya takes the role of the frontline fighter (despite being very full of themselves and aggressive they care about their 'job' of protecting their own, also giving them the chance to show off just how strong they are); the fight was going well for them all things considered, but when the guardian activates it drains the power of all elemental lords (which Eadrya is one of, and since they have the most strength it also takes the most from them), so much so that they lose the fight and suffer deadly wounds (the worst being a spear through the chest made of a material that grows hard, root-like formations when in contact with demonic blood like a fungus but worse, also stopping any self healing processes) after the guardian falls apart it creates a huge shockwave of energy that stuns every living thing within a certain distance and possibly more-

Eadrya (in true demon form, so like a blue whale in size at least) was likely taken through an active gateway to the human world in a large tidal wave also created by the guardians fall; they wash up in the harbor of a small secluded village, the head of which is 'lady 13'; although never having seen a demon before and everyone being afraid (largely thinking its a strange hurt animal, only she suspected otherwise), they still gather all villagers to pull out the celestial spear, which is diffcult and brutal given that its already taken root, but the village lacked both knowledge and means to help any other way- doing so damaged their heart which is how they were able to collect samples of all three demonic blood types ('normal' -red like humans-, energy -essentially purely magic- and heartblood -highly concentrated energy only found within the heart of a demon and the only one to contain genetic material) (this is the start of Eadryas character arc, having to deal with the fact that their world is likely destroyed, them failing what they didnt think they could fail, having lost a battle so badly (even if not really their fault) for the first time and not knowing if literally anyone else has survived .. also being now stuck in the human world, which they dont like)

Lady 13 (placeholder name? stands for experiment 13) is a human that was tricked by demon hunters to enroll into a series of experiments trying to create hybrids of demons and humans, which they hoped would be powerful and easily controllable tools for their endeavours, though the two are inherently not compatible, they tried grafting body parts of demons on humans to make them compatible- all experiments failed except for her, more or less, though she never got to see the hybrid she carried and was then told it had died too, they threw her out believing she wouldnt survive much longer either and all such experiments were cancelled due to the high cost of human life, research material (demons are still rare) and upkeep with no successful results Lady 13 survived though (perhaps even via the pirates picking her up?) and she ended up living in said small village far away, hiding her half demonic body, though most know there soemthing 'wrong' with her (her being this tall when it doesnt fit the rest for one), only few know the full extent; she enjoys the life she has now, perhaps on the more poor side but safer and more loved than ever before; she largely lead the efforts to try and help Eadrya when they ended up in the harbor, though there wasnt that much anyone could do it was still enough- they leave immediately after waking up, but return after really having nowhere to go and struggling to deal with everything that has happened; over time (probably years) they start to open up towards the people there (though not .. very much) enough to get rather close with Lady 13 too- she actually falls madly in love but after Eadrya (extremely aro/ace) rejects all her attempts quite clearly she respects their boundaries

However, after hearing news of potential demon sightings Eadrya decides to leave in hopes of not being the last demon left after all; Lady 13 then decides to reveal her secret to them (though hearing and seeing what lengths hunters would go to for their experiments makes them absolutely seething with rage- she insists on not being out for revenge) and asks if they would be willing to donate a small amount of heartblood; shes always wanted to be a mother but is now incompatible with humans too- through things she picked up back at the experiments facillity, hers and her doctors research she is sure that is all that is needed, she dares to ask since she does not know when, if ever, she will meet another demon, much less one she could actually trust enough for this though Eadrya hesitates (why would she want to go through the same thing again that didnt work and threatened her life, if it does work, do they want to be involved with any of this? what if hunters find out it worked after all?) but after her ensuring that they would have no part in it other than giving up a little blood and would not be considered a parent in any way, nor made responsible for anything that might happen to her, but considering it all in the end they agree to it

only for her to reveal shes had a small bottle of it already, along with multiple samples of the other types, which she collected when Eadrya was bleeding out into the harbor not knowing if they will survive, though not wanting to make use of it without their consent either way (they are actuallly rather touched by this)

alot later the main group returns here and it turns out to have worked (though she is unable to walk/bedridden for a long while bc it did alot of damage to her body, which can heal since its demons parts, but only really slowly bc she does not have a full functioning system and no demonic blood of her own -she uses the other samples for the healing process-) though its a little awkward to explain, especially considering that 13.1 took alot after Eadrya xD (their theory as to why it worked so "well" that time is that even though the sample was already taken, them giving their consent for it still made it less likely to be rejected; demons dont need partners to have offspring, and all can do it, they just have to decide to- so them agreeing to it, even though its long been outside their body, still had an effect on the blood sample)

[farahfriday]

[lord farquaad pointing and laughing meme] the british man has fallen for the american imperialist propaganda!

ghost image credit to yumethefrostypanda

[winteriron-trash]

rdj the (whitewashed) electric boogaloo

This is a reminder to everyone who's excited about RDJ's casting as Doctor Doom that this casting is whitewashing. Victor Von Doom is a Romani character and has been a Romani character since his introduction in the 1960s. (Fantastic Four Annual #2 [1964]) Not only that, but his Roma identity and the persecution he and his family faced due to it is integral to his character, it is what forms his identity. (Books of Doom by Ed Brubaker) Even if on the off chance this casting is meant to not be Victor but instead be some variant of Tony or whomever else becoming Doctor Doom, it is damaging to the character to rob him of that important cultural background. Doctor Doom does not exist without that history. Fans have been pushing hard to cast Doom as a Romani actor for years, especially since the MCU has whitewashed other Romani characters. (Wanda, Pietro, etc) This casting is not a celebration moment, it's fucking heartbreaking that the MCU repeatedly ignores the important and nuanced cultural backstories of characters.

I know I can't change anybody's mind on whether or not you want to be excited about RDJ's return to the MCU. But I do think at the very least you should be mad that the MCU is baiting us all and destroying nuanced and interesting characters for the sake of self-referential easter eggs and nostalgia bait. Because that's what it is. Feel how you'd like to feel about RDJ's return, but personally, this is soul-sucking. I had such a deep love for the MCU as a teenager, it was obviously something incredibly formative to me, especially Tony Stark. This isn't recreating what I fell in love with the MCU for. This is turning a well-planned and artistic storyline of adaptations into cheap cash grabs and fan service. Because, I think we're past the point of being able to call the MCU an adaptation of anything. They can use existing characters' names and powers, but to say they're being properly adapted is laughable.

This is not an adaptation of Doctor Doom. This is RDJ the Electric Boogaloo because Marvel's fear of losing the interest of dedicated MCU fans overrides their willingness to tell stories that are genuine to the characters. I don't know what there is to be excited about that. The MCU has lost its authenticity and aside from a few projects, feels heartless. Every movie is a copy of a copy. This announcement isn't something celebratory, it feels like a death knell of a cinematic universe that's so desperate to cling to relevancy it's resorting to nostalgia for a character/actor who hasn't even been dead for a decade. We're not getting anything new, we're just rinsing and repeating the same song and dance.

I get it. I love Tony Stark, his death destroyed me and I to this day, rue the ending he got in Endgame. It misunderstood his arc and it robbed him of a satisfying conclusion. But the solution to that isn't dragging the corpse out of the grave five years later to whitewash an existing character with rich and interesting nuance, just to forcibly tie his existence in the MCU to Tony. Whether he is a variant or not. Why would you want someone else's fave's legacy to be destroyed simply so your fave's legacy can go on? Hell, if we were really all so hellbent on the return of RDJ and/or Tony to the MCU, we have the multiverse for a reason. There were other ways to do it that didn't whitewash and ruin someone else. This just. Isn't something to be happy about.

[skizwillsuffice]

I’ve noticed something bout my style and I’m not bout to change it

[hewmitcwaft]

HEY! HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! TELL ME ABOUT PIXANDRIA!! DO U HAVE ANY BRAIN THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ANTHILL?!

OH BOY DO I !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bacchuschucklefuck]

since more of like the class swap etc started going up every once in a while there will be a question in my inbox that would take me literally multiple comics' worth of art to answer adequately lol. and I don't wanna do that under an ask I want that to have its own space! so if I don't answer ur question know that it's probably that^ above there and not that I think ur question sucks

[binglepringle]

TW:🍇(?)

Um. Ma’am.

MA’AM YOU CANT DO THAT.

[lulu-draws-stuff]

Low effort comic with Darcy and Sasha btw

[rubydubydoo122]

Nationality headcanons for Dick Grayson and his parents?

His Mom's Romani, I'm thinking Turkish Romani, and his Dad is just Turkish. Ik a lot of people like to think he's french, but Idk, Turkish feels right.

Maybe his dad was an acrobat training for the olympics, and his mom was naturally gifted. They met while running away from something (idk what, maybe the police wrongly accused Mary for stealing, and John didn't want to be an Olympian anymore) and they jumped onto an open Haley's train cart, where they joined the circus. They learned the trapeze together, and fell in love through trust and bonding. Idk how old they would be when this happened, but I'm thinking pretty young. like 16/17/18